[RTE News] Dundalk-Dublin train evacuated

Jonathan · 08-03-2010 5:52pm #1

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0308/dundalk.html

A commuter train from Dundalk to Dublin had to be evacuated after a fire broke out underneath a passenger carriage.
The fire broke out when the train was in Laytown and was initially tackled by the automated fire suppression system onboard the Iarnród Éireann commuter train.
The driver also tackled the small fire with an extinguisher.
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Passengers had to leave the train and were accommodated on a later service. No one was injured in the incident.
It is believed that the incident was caused with a parking brake becoming stuck on one of the bogies underneath a passenger carriage as it moved.
That led to heat and smoke being generated in the bogie and so staff ordered the evacuation of the train in Laytown station.

Run_to_da_hills · 08-03-2010 6:03pm

The MK3's would never do this.

Victor · 09-03-2010 1:20am

No, in that case it would be the loco that would break down / catch fire.

cyberfitnessgur · 09-03-2010 1:23am

How many were injured?

Jonathan · 09-03-2010 1:24am

cyberfitnessgur wrote: »

How many were injured?

No one was injured in the incident.

Victor · 09-03-2010 3:06am

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0309/1224265879036.html

Smoke alert clears passengers off train
OLIVIA KELLY

PASSENGERS WERE evacuated from an Iarnród Éireann commuter train at Laytown station, Co Meath, yesterday morning after smoke billowed from beneath one of the carriages.

The smoke was the result of a mechanical fault with one of the brakes on the 8am Drogheda to Dublin service. But there was no fire and no danger to passengers, an Iarnród Éireann spokesman said.

“The driver applied the parking brake on the wheel unit, but due to a mechanical fault it stuck. There were sparks and a lot of smoke, but no fire.”

Passengers were evacuated at Laytown and were accommodated on the next train.

The train would be examined he said. It was believed that the fault was a one-off incident.

There were no similar problems with other trains on the fleet, which was brought into service in 2003.

Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O’Dowd has called for an inquiry into the incident.

“Any type of fire on a passenger train is a very serious matter and I am thankful that no one was injured,” he said.

“The rail safety commission must now conduct a detailed investigation.”

Cookie_Monster · 09-03-2010 8:41am

brought in in 03, whats that then, 29k? too old for a 22k isin't it?
Even though the 29ks were 2002 and 2005

GM071class · 10-03-2010 12:17pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

brought in in 03, whats that then, 29k? too old for a 22k isin't it?
Even though the 29ks were 2002 and 2005

Tis' the 29's.

They've had issue's with fires on board the units before. I've heard stories of engine and generator fires, normally during the summer months.....

You'd imagine that with the Units being built in Spain, They'd at least handle the Irish 'Heat Waves'.....

GM071class · 10-03-2010 12:34pm

Another Example....

29000 fire at Castleknock;
http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0710/train.html

dowlingm · 10-03-2010 2:34pm

In fairness, there was a stretch there when the 29K fleet had a huge inservice availability - and they had to because IE had nothing to replace them with if something broke down!

I wish there were open source numbers to prove out my suspicions but I can't help feeling like we've seen a lot more 22K failures in comparison.

Captain Chaos · 10-03-2010 3:33pm

Yep, at one point in 2008 or 2009, can't remember. The 29k fleet had the best reliability record for DMU sets in the EU. Thats going on percentage wise. The 28s are doing a great job over the past year or so, for a 20 car fleet, at minimum on most days 18 are in service.

The 22ks do seem to be failing far to often for such new units. Granted they are constantly in use but so are the 29ks. The amount of 22ks going around with broken and missing coupling doors is fairly high too from what I have seen.

Run_to_da_hills · 10-03-2010 4:11pm

Captain Chaos wrote: »

. The amount of 22ks going around with broken and missing coupling doors is fairly high too from what I have seen.

Thats only a cosmetic detail.

I could see them being binned as an inconvenience by maintenance staff. (They remind me of those stupid cosmetic CD/DVD rom covers that are found on desk top PC's that get in the way every time you want to load a cd.)

GM071class · 10-03-2010 4:19pm

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Yep, at one point in 2008 or 2009, can't remember. The 29k fleet had the best reliability record for DMU sets in the EU. Thats going on percentage wise. The 28s are doing a great job over the past year or so, for a 20 car fleet, at minimum on most days 18 are in service.

The 22ks do seem to be failing far to often for such new units. Granted they are constantly in use but so are the 29ks. The amount of 22ks going around with broken and missing coupling doors is fairly high too from what I have seen.

Its the big thing with Railcars that IÉ sited as a great selling point.

If the engine fails on a Locomotive Hauled set fails, the entire train is a Failure, and its very obvious to everyone.
However on a Railcar The results of 'reliability tests' can be adjusted to be better than they actually are.
I remember on a trip on a 29K set to Rosslare (4-car) I was chatting to the driver, He informed me that the reason for the sluggish performance was a lack of engines.
The poorly set actually ran to Rosslare on 2 Engines, The way back was worse when in Kilcoole one of them over-heated, and automatically shut down. We limped into Connolly. That train wasn't, of course, classed a failure, and then went on to work to Maynooth.

IÉ have the opinion that if a railcar even only has one engine operating on an 8 car set, Its still viable for service.

Next time you're on a 29K have a walk through the train and listen to how many engines are actually working, It beggars belief sometimes....

Regards,
Matt,

Captain Chaos · 10-03-2010 4:22pm

Tell me about it. I walked by an 8 car 29 the other day and only 1 engine was running and this thing was in service with a good few people on it. I've also seen 29s in service with door failures and signs telling people to use the other door. Good fun in the rush hour times I'd say.

garfieldsghost · 10-03-2010 4:46pm

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Tell me about it. I walked by an 8 car 29 the other day and only 1 engine was running and this thing was in service with a good few people on it. I've also seen 29s in service with door failures and signs telling people to use the other door. Good fun in the rush hour times I'd say.

If they're stationary for a certain length of time a number of the engines shut down automatically to conserve fuel.

They're still horrible pieces of junk, though. I've travelled on units a number of times where certain passenger compartments had to be evacuated because they became filled with exhaust fumes! I've also seen some with leaking roofs! Not exactly what you want to contend with when travelling home after a long day at work...

monument · 10-03-2010 11:50pm

I was on an intercity railcar to Mayo the other week that started to fill with fumes. It had to make an unscheduled stop.

One of the first two carriages started to fill with smoke and that started to spread as passengers moved down the train. Other passengers reported that the smoke came from vents.

It was part evacuated while the driver and two other staff looked at the train. The engine in the first carriage was revved up while they were doing this time.

Nobody was injured directly, but another stop was made quickly after as an old woman was brought to hospital due to hart problems.

[RTE News] Dundalk-Dublin train evacuated

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